Psychological Assessment and Issues in Intelligence Testing Flashcards
____ ____ may be conceptualized as a process of using psychological tests, clinical interviews, behavioral observations, and other assessment tools to gather data on an individual’s cognitive, emotional, social, and behavioral functioning for the purposes of description, classification, prediction, and intervention planning and monitoring.
Psychological Assessment
Factors to consider when evaluating the appropriateness of a psychological test for a particular examinee or situation include the ____ of the ____ and ____ of the ____ and the ____.
Qualifications of the Examiner and Characteristics of the Examinee and the Test
____ ____: The ____, skills, training, and other qualifications needed to administer a test and interpret its results are important considerations when choosing a test or other assessment technique.
Examiner Qualifications; Knowledge
Several documents published by the American Psychological Association address this issue, including the Ethical Standards for the Distribution of Psychological Tests and Diagnostic Aids, which includes a ____-____ ____ for ____ ____ ____ ____: Level A tests may be administered and interpreted by ____; Level B tests require “some ____ ____ of ____ ____ and ____… [and completion of] supporting ____ and ____ subjects”; and Level C tests should be administered only by individuals “with at least a ____ ____ in ____… and at least ____ ____ of ____ ____ under a ____.”
Three-Teir System for Categorizing Test User Qualifications; Nonpsychologists; Technical Knowledge of Test Construction and Use; Psychological and Educational; Mater’s Degree in Psychology; One Year of Supervised Experience; Psychologist
____ ____ relevant to the evaluation of a psychological test include the examinee’s age, developmental level, gender, reading level, language proficiency, physical abilities, motivation, anxiety, familiarity with testing procedures, and cultural and socioeconomic background. The validity of a test is likely to be compromised when there is a mismatch between the language requirements of the test and the examinee’s language proficiency or when testing procedures are modified to accommodate an examinee’s disability and the test was not developed or normed for individuals with that disability.
Examinee Characteristics
____ ____: Determining the appropriateness of a test requires considering not only the match between the ____ of the ____ and the ____ for the ____ but also the test’s ____ and ____, its ____ (administration and scoring procedures and norms), and the types of ____ the test provides.
Test Characteristics; Purpose of the Test; Reasons for the Assessment; Reliability and Validity; Standardization; Scores
____ and ____: ____ refers to the degree to which test scores are free from the effects of measurement error, while ____ refers to the degree to which a test measures what it was designed to measure. Information about test reliability and validity is provided in the Test Construction chapter.
Reliability and Validity; Reliability; Validity
The term ____ is used to describe two characteristics of a test. First, a test is said to be standardized when “the testee’s ____ and ____, the ____, and the ____ have been ____ so the scores collected at different times and places are fully comparable.”
Standardization; Words; Acts; Apparatus; Scoring; Fixed
Any deviation from standardized administration and scoring procedures — e.g., the modification of test instructions — may result in ____ ____ about an examinee’s test performance. Second, a test is referred to as standardized when it has been administered under ____ ____ to a ____ sample for the purpose of establishing ____.
Invalid Conclusions; Standard Conditions; Representative; Establishing Norms
The greater the discrepancy between an examinee’s ____ and the characteristics of the ____ ____, the less ____ the test is likely to be for that examinee.
Characteristics; Norm Group; Valid
____ of ____: The scores provided by most tests can be categorized as ____-, ____-, or ____-____.
Types of Scores; Norm-, Criterion-, or Self-Referenced
____-____ ____ permit comparisons between an examinee’s test performance and the performance of individuals in the norm group. ____ ____ and ____ ____ are examples of norm-referenced scores.
Norm-Referenced Scores; Percentile Ranks and Standard Scores
____-____ ____ are also known as domain-referenced and content-referenced scores and permit interpreting an examinee’s test performance in terms of what the examinee can do or knows regarding a clearly defined content domain or in terms of performance or status on an external criterion (e.g., predicted rating on a measure of job performance).
Criterion-Referenced Scores
When a ____-____ ____ is used for the purpose of mastery testing, an examinee’s performance is usually reported as percent of the test items answered correctly, and the percent is compared to a pre-established cutoff (e.g., 80% correct) to determine if the examinee has reached mastery or requires additional instruction.
Criterion-Referenced Test
____-____ ____ are provided by ____ ____, which permit ____ ____ — i.e., comparisons of an examinee’s score on one scale with his/her scores on other scales. For example, an examinee’s scores on the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule provide information on the relative strengths of his/her basic psychological needs.
Self-Referenced Scores; Ipsative Scales; Intraindividual Comparisons
There are many ways to categorize tests and other assessment techniques. For example, tests may be categorized as ____ or ____ ____, as ____ (____) or ____ (____) measures, and as ____-____ or ____-____.
Individual or Group Tests; Formal (Standardized) or Informal (Nonstandardized); Criterion-Referenced or Norm-Referenced
____ ____ focuses on overt and covert behaviors that occur in specific circumstances and may utilize behavioral interviews, behavioral observation, cognitive assessment (e.g., thought sampling, protocol analysis), and/or psychophysiological measures.
Behavioral Assessment
The term ____ ____ ____ (___) refers to a type of behavioral assessment that entails determining the function or purpose of a behavior by identifying its antecedents and consequences. The goal of an FBA is to identify strategies for ____ or ____ a ____ ____ by eliminating the ____ and ____ that are ____ the ____ and providing antecedents and consequences that support an ____ ____.
Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA); Decreasing or Eliminating a Target Behavior; Antecedents and Consequences; Maintaining the Behavior; Alternative Behavior
____ ____ was derived from Vygotsky’s method for evaluating a child’s mental development and involves an interactive approach and deliberate deviation from standardized testing procedures to obtain additional information about the examinee and/or determine if the examinee is likely to benefit from assistance or instruction. It is associated primarily with ____ ____ but has also been used with measures of ____ and ____ ____.
Dynamic Assessment; Educational Assessment; Personality and Social Functioning
____ the ____ is one type of dynamic assessment and involves providing an examinee with additional cues, suggestions, or feedback and is ordinarily done after standard administration of the test to preserve the applicability of the test’s norms. As an example, when used in conjunction with the Rorschach Inkblot Test, ____ the ____ follows the inquiry phase and involves asking questions or making suggestions to obtain more information about the examinee’s personality functioning — e.g., “Some people see something in this part of the inkblot. What does it look like to you?”
Testing the Limits; Testing the Limits
Two other types of dynamic assessment are ____ ____, which involves giving the examinee a series of verbal prompts that are graduated in terms of difficulty level, and ____-____-____, which involves following the initial assessment with an intervention designed to modify the examinee’s performance and then re-assessing the examinee.
Graduated Prompting; Test-Teach-Retest
____-____ ____: Computers are used not only to ____ ____ but also provide ____ and ____ of test results. Regarding administration, ____-____ ____ ____ can act as an alternative to standard testing or provide adaptive testing. using ____ ____ ____ (___), the computer tailors the test to an individual examinee by choosing subsequent items based on the examinee’s previous answers.
Computer-Assisted Assessment; Administer Tests; Scoring and Interpretation; Computer-Assisted Test Administration; Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT)
The primary advantages of CAT are its ____ and ____: CAT ensures that all examinees, regardless of their level or status on the characteristic being assessed, are measured with the same degree of ____ and does so in a way that reduces ____ ____.
Precision and Efficiency; Reliability; Testing Time
Regarding computer-based interpretations, Groth-Marnat notes that research that their validity may be ____ than ____ in some circumstances and, therefore, that they “should not be used to replace ____ ____ but should instead be used as an adjunct to provide possible interpretations that the clinician needs to ____.”
Less than Optimal; Clinical Judgment; Verify
A continuing debate in the literature on psychological assessment is about the accuracy of ____ versus ____ ____. ____ (____) ____ are based on empirically validated relationships between test results and specific criteria and make use of a multiple regression equation or similar statistical technique. In contrast, ____ ____ are based on the decision-maker’s intuition, experience, and knowledge. In other words, classifications, diagnoses, and predictions about behavior rely on the ____ ____.
Actuarial; Clinical Predictions; Actuarial (Statistical) Predictions; Clinical Predictions; Clinician’s Judgement
Studies comparing actuarial and clinical predictions have generally found that, when a fair comparison is made between the two approaches — i.e., when the same data are used for both methods and when conditions that might inflate the accuracy of the ____ ____ are eliminated — the actuarial method alone is more ____ than ____ ____ alone.
Actuarial Method; Accurate; Clinical Judgment
____ ____: The research confirms ____ interviews can be used to obtain reliable and valid data from children as young as age ____. Kanfer, Eyberg, and Krahn note that there are two important goals when interviewing children: ____ ____ and maintaining the child’s ____.
Assessing Children; Interviews; Six; Establishing Rapport; Cooperation
____ ____ ____: ____ ____ include objective comments about a child’s appearance and non-negative comments about his or her behavior or demeanor (e.g., “You look happy today”). Descriptions give ____ to the child, ____ the child to continue doing what he/she is doing, and point out to the child what behavior is ____ of him/her.
Use Descriptive Statements; Descriptive Statements; Attention; Encourage; Expected
____ ____: ____ ____ mirror what the child says and can be either ____ or ____. Reflection helps clarify and organize the child’s ____ and ____.
Use Reflection; Reflective Statements; Literal or Interpretive; Thoughts and Feelings
____ ____ ____: ____ ____ indicates approval and helps guide and encourage the child to behave in a particular way (e.g., “You’re doing a good Job telling me what happened”).
Provide Labeled Praise; Labeled Praise
____ ____ ____: ____ elicits negative emotional reactions and defensiveness from a child and disrupts the development of rapport. Better tactics for altering undesirable behavior are to make ____-____ ____ (“One of the rules in this room is that …”), to make ____ ____ (“Come and sit at the table”), and to ____ the ____.
Avoid Critical Statements; Criticism; Rule-Based Corrections; Invitational Statements; Ignore the Behavior
Another useful strategy is to rely primarily on ____-____ ____ that cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no” or other brief response. Open-ended questions elicit a ____ ____ of ____ from the child and reduce the likelihood that he or she will be led to ____ the ____ ____.
Open-Ended Questions; Greater Amount of Information; Accept the Interviewer’s Conclusions
Not all open-ended questions are ____, however: Questions that begin with a “____ “ should usually be ____ e.g., it’s better to ask “What don’t you like about coming here?” than “Why didn’t you want to come here?” Angold notes that it is also important to avoid ____ ____ when interviewing children (e.g., “That probably made you angry, didn’t it?”) and, at least initially, to rely on the child’s free recall in order to obtain the most accurate information about a past event.
Useful; Why; Avoided; Leading Questions
Increased concern about child abuse has led to discussions about the best way to assess children for abuse, especially ____ ____. A topic of controversy is the use of ____ ____ ____ to determine if a child has been sexually abused. Advocates for their use point out that they can serve several important functions, including acting as a ____ for a ____ ____ and as a ____ ____ for children who are lack adequate ____ ____ or are too ____ to describe what happened to them.
Sexual Abuse; Anatomically Correct Dolls; Stimulus; Child’s Memories; Language Substitute; Verbal Skills; Embarrassed
Although a number of authorities have criticized their use on the basis of a lack of ____ and ____, Vizard’s review of the research suggests that children who have been sexually abused are, in fact, more likely than non-abused children to demonstrate ____ ____ when presented with the dolls and that their use does not cause young children to act more ____ than they would with other dolls. There are no widely ____ ____ for using these dolls, however, and there is evidence that, while anatomical dolls improve children’s ____ to ____ about ____ when compared to questioning without ____, these dolls may not be ____ ____ than ____ ____, ____ ____, or other ____.
Reliability and Validity; Sexual Activity; Suggestively; Accepted Standards; Responses to Questions; Abuse; Props; More Effective; Nonanatomical Dolls; Anatomical Drawings; Media
____ ____ of ____ ____ ____: Factors that must be considered when choosing assessment techniques for members of culturally diverse groups include the individual’s ____, ____ /____ ____, and ____ ____; the availability of appropriate ____; the cultural equivalence of the ____ or ____ measured by the test; and the availability of ____ that are more ____ for the client’s ____.
Assessing Members of Culturally Diverse Populations; Acculturation, Racial/Ethnic Identity, and Language Proficiency; Norms; Content or Construct; Alternatives; Appropriate; Background
In their discussion of multicultural assessment, Suzuki, Meller, and Ponterotto offer the following guidelines for selecting, administering, and interpreting assessment procedures: ____________________________.
Purpose of the Assessment, Test Content, Alternative Methods, Ethnic Norms, Rold of the Examiner
____ of the ____: Professionals should be clear about the ____ of the ____ and should use only techniques that are likely to accomplish that purpose and benefit the person being assessed.
Purpose of the Assessment; Purpose of the Evaluation
____ ____: Professionals must be sensitive to the cultural loading in current assessment procedures and practices and be aware that, currently. there are no truly “culture-fair” or “culture-free” tests.
Test Content
____ ____: Whenever possible, professionals should use culturally sensitive procedures and assessments either as ____ to standard tests or in conjunction with them. Possible ____ include curriculum-based measurement and performance-based assessment.
Alternative Methods; Alternatives; Alternatives
____ ____: Professionals must be aware of ____ ____ within different ____ and ____ ____ and interpret an examinee’s responses within the appropriate cultural context.
Ethnic Norms; Normative Behavior; Racial and Ethnic Groups
____ of the ____: Professionals must self-monitor their “level of assessment expertise with respect to members of racial and ethnic minorities” and should be cognizant of any cultural differences that might interfere with the establishment of rapport.
Role of the Examiner
A topic of controversy in the field of multicultural testing is whether racial, ethnic, or Cultural differences between an examiner and examinee affect the ____ ____ ____. The research on this issue is far from ____: For example, some studies comparing the effects of a White or African American examiner on the test performance of African American children have found no difference, while others have found a White examiner to have either a negative or positive impact.
Examinee’s Test Performance; Consistent
Overall, probably the best conclusion is that there is no consistent effect of a match or mismatch of the examiner and examinee in terms of race, ethnicity, or culture and that other factors — e.g., ____ and the examiner’s ____ — may be more critical to an ____ ____ ____.
Rapport; Examiner’s Attitude; Examinee’s Test Performance